Parents' Guide to

Shéhérazade

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Dark drama is filled with violence, sex, drugs, profanity.

Movie NR 2019 109 minutes
Shéhérazade Poster Image

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What's the Story?

In SHÉHÉRAZADE, 17-year-old Zach (Dylan Robert) is released from a juvenile detention center in Marseilles after serving a sentence for armed robbery and other crimes. Rejected by his coldhearted, manipulative mother, he runs from a group home, is apprehended, and runs again, this time into the arms of Shéhérazade (Kenza Fortas), a young, vulnerable but feisty prostitute. The two make a tentative connection; Zach crashes at her rundown flat and meets her transgender roommate. At the very least, he has a temporary landing place. Initially at odds with his old friends, the leader of whom is a drug dealer, Zach asks for their help when he discovers that Shéhérazade and her "associates" are being harassed by a gang of thugs. They're successful, and Zach makes the most of the opportunity by pimping for the prostitutes. Things are working out for him, and the relationship with Shéhérazade is becoming more intense. Trouble finds the couple when an old ally of Zach's makes a move on Shéhérazade. From that point forward, it's a violence-filled, suspenseful, and destructive path for Zach, who must fight the system and the mean streets, and come to terms with his own sense of right and wrong.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

A hyper-realistic camera, production design, and attitude combine with exciting performances by the two relatively novice lead actors to deliver a complex story of crime and character. With an overarching message about the power of love and a vital portrait of the plight of multigenerational immigrants in a gritty European port, Shéhérazade is an impressive first feature for director-writer Jean Bernard-Marlin. The film offers a violent, hard-hitting look at the urban decay and desperation that envelope the young people who don't see a way out. Still, once the audience gets past the brutality and the predatory behavior, Bernard-Marlin actually offers a spark of hope as the final credits roll. For older teens and adults only.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the sex and sexuality in Shéhérazade. Is it gratuitous or an integral part of the movie's story and characterizations? Are there consequences for deviant behavior? Who pays that price? Given the subject matter and the plot, do you think the filmmakers handled the sex with integrity?

  • The characters in Shéhérazade are members of a group known as Maghrebin (Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian). The black-and-white scenes at the beginning of the film are actual footage of their immigration to France decades ago. Where would you go to find out more about this population? If you have an opportunity, you might want to watch the film's opening again now that there's a context for it.

  • Think about the cinematography (the photography -- camera work) in the movie. How did the lighting and unusual focus (sometimes sharp, sometimes soft) enhance the film's story? How did it help give you a sense of the life in that part of Marseilles?

  • Shéhérazade is the name of the storyteller and a character in One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern tales from centuries ago. Find out who the original character was and try to determine why the female lead in this movie was given her name.

Movie Details

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